Culture Shock
by LittleMewLugia
Summary: With the AllSpark gone, the Autobots and Decepticons must learn to court and gain the affections of the Cybertronian femmes. Starscream looks into early history for the answers, seeking the method favoured by ancient Decepticons.
1. Chapter 1

Culture Shock.

Summary: With the AllSpark gone, the Autobots and Decepticons must learn to court and gain the affections of the Cybertronian femmes. Starscream looks into early history for the answers, seeking the method favoured by ancient Decepticons.

Rating: Probably T, but M for safety.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters nor would claim to: I'm just playing with them. They belong to Hasbro and Dreamworks/Paramount.

Culture Shock.

Prologue.

The AllSpark was gone, and although the shard Optimus had picked from Megatron's chest had produced life, the resulting forms were severely damaged, their coding jumbled and in some case badly degraded. It took much care from Ratchet – and a certain amount of judicious reprogramming – before the Autobots could even begin to start training the few they had saved to be functioning members of society, be that Autobot or Decepticon society.

Optimus and the Autobots were not overly-concerned about the continuance of their race, for the Autobot femme team had arrived, led by the femme who was Optimus' mate, Elita-One, and her second in command was Ironhide's mate, Chromia.

Moonracer, one of the others, was disappointed to find that her Powerglide had not arrived, Firestar sad that Inferno was not present. Similarly, Arcee was upset that Hot Rod was not among the mechs at the Base, and that left only Flareup, Chromia's young ward, free, and she was waiting to see who else might arrive before taking a mate. In Cybertronian terms, a wait of a few hundred years would be seen as acceptable, and all the 'bots were willing to wait, especially at a time of war, and especially as they first had to rear the defective AllSpark-generated sparklings.

None of the Autobots stopped to think that as the Decepticons had no femmes of their own (and were not, as far as they knew, expecting any) that the Decepticons might not have the patience to wait for any others to arrive, particularly not when they were led by an impatient mech like Starscream.

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"We could steal one, the Autobots have plenty to spare, they wouldn't miss her," Barricade said, in a discussion the Decepticons were having. Starscream shot him a venomous glare, and Barricade realised that what he'd insinuated was something still very taboo to even most Decepticons, so taboo that even the slower tank-mech Wreckage edged away, distancing himself from the black and white frontliner.

"You suggest we imprison a femme and force her to bear sparklings for us?" Starscream asked in a dangerously quiet voice. "Barricade, we may be Decepticons, but that does not mean some of us do not have scruples, and while I am leader, you will not ignore mine."

"So you have a better idea? I'm sure we are all eager to hear, Starscream," the frontliner said.

"I'm working on it. Femmes need to be coaxed, lured, encouraged. Some of our earlier records suggest that femme-births were at one time more common. Courting a femme is a skill we have lost, and I will check the records of the times to see how encouraging a femme to choose you as a mate was carried out. There are a lot of records to check and decipher, but I will report back to you with a better idea in three human days." He fixed them all with a look. "While we're on the subject of timely happenings, I want the new building you are supposed to be erecting to be completed by that time."

The meeting broke up, and Starscream went back to his studies. He had actually found the records he was looking for. Unknown to the others, he was already working on putting things in motion to try and secure himself and his wing brothers a femme to share. He just needed a little more time to implement some of his plans. He hoped he could persuade the femme – once he got her - to go with all of the Decepticons, over a long period of time of course, but realised it was a lot to ask of one femme.

Meaning the femme in question would have to be exceptional indeed. Which meant it was lucky for him, he mused, that just such a femme had already arrived on Earth.


	2. Chapter 2

Culture Shock.

Chapter One.

A/N: Dr Syn is the intellectual property of author MeowthTwo on this site, and is used with permission.

Two Days Later.

Starscream was sat in the Seeker quarters, holding one edge of the cloth-of-gold he'd managed to obtain in his hand, the rest of the bolt falling in heavy folds over his legs. Gold had been well known on Cybertron and also quite common. It was too soft to hold any real constructive use, although its stability was scientifically useful, but it was often worn for personal adornment.

Starscream had actually obtained the large bolt several months ago, for a scientific project that had never reached fruition, using a self-built machine hidden on the sea bed to filter the minute particles of gold out of the sea water. Then he had used information gleaned from the Internet to track down a human who could have the gold woven into the heavy, expensive material he held. It was a shame, really, that Starscream had had to have the human destroyed to ensure his silence, but although his scientific project had never come to pass, he now had this material, material that he was now carefully hemming and gathering to give it the shape he required.

He had been working on it for two days, even his wing brothers did not know why, nor his craftmech-medic, whom he had given the rest of the gold and a set of instructions. Dr Syn was well used to not querying any work he was given, even something as odd as this, and Starscream's wing brothers knew that pestering Starscream to explain himself would only make him hold out longer than necessary, so although he got some odd looks, he was not queried. Soon he would need the assist of Skywarp and Thundercracker, and then he would explain his plans to them, but until then, he intended to keep quiet.

Several hours later his work was finished, and he gathered the expensive cloth to him, folding the two pieces he had adapted and taking them in his arms as he headed for the med bay. He gave them to the doctor, who hid them in a box of new polishing cloths, and nodded when Starscream asked how he was progressing.

"Very nicely, but if you could see a way to obtain some of the hard and vari-hued crystalline varieties of the element called 'carbon', I could make the items look even better," the craftsmech said. "I would advise against using glass substitutes: the obvious difference in the way they refract light will make a difference to how good they would look."

"Then it is lucky that this planet is not the only one to have contained organic life and have been seismically active, plus I stopped on more than one of these others," Starscream stated as he removed a small sack from an inter-armour storage space. "Here, I kept them for their scientific value but have used few. Take what you need. My wing brothers and I are going for a flight." The medic nodded as Starscream headed out.

Starscream commed his wing brothers. "I am going for a flight over the Lookout," he informed them. "Care to join me?" "The Lookout again?" Thundercracker asked. "We've been there a lot recently, why don't we go somewhere different today?" "All in good time, Thundercracker, there is a reason for spending so much time at the Lookout recently, one that I will make clear in just a few days." Thundercracker fell silent, and although Starscream knew he was still annoyed, he ignored it. "Shall we go?" he asked brightly.

The Seekers went outside and took off into the air.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Optimus Prime and his femme, Elita-One were stood on the edge of the Lookout as Optimus first checked that their beacon was still working and then came to stand by her, putting his left hand gently on her left shoulder. "Still fully functional, and messages received suggest at least three approaching within communications range," he told her as she turned and pressed against his warm hide, the slight oil-and-grease odour that went with his chosen alt mingling not unpleasantly with the uniquely Cybertronian scent of him. He held her close, knowing that when they got back to the Base she would want, even need, an overload.

She and her team had all sent so long in space that it would take a long time before the accumulated hunger and frustration would begin easing off. They had had each other to relieve the worst, of course, but they had still turned the base – and the mechs within it – upside down upon their first arrival. If Elita's team were like this when they had had each other to turn to in the interval, Optimus figured that a lone mech or femme in space arriving could really complicate things. So far they had had no single arrivals, but Optimus wondered if it was merely a case of when that person arrived.

"The Seekers are flying again," she noted lazily. They had noticed this fairly often recently, the Seekers getting flight-time in around the area of the Lookout. Optimus supposed the thermals were good or somesuch: as a non-Seeker he wouldn't know what made for a good flight. Whatever it was, except for a couple of cheeky low passes, the Seekers had never really bothered them.

The two watched for a moment, then turned to watch the Earth's primary setting, a sight that so far Elita had not tired of. She hummed happily as the sky changed from orange to pink and then red as the disc of the sun sank beneath the horizon. As the sky began to darken to a deeper blue and the stars began to show, the two Autobots folded down into alt and headed to the Base.

None of them realised that a pair of red optics had been fixed on them the entire time.

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A few days later, everything was in place. The building was complete and any equipment needed had been brought in. Starscream himself had checked the layout and placement of things, the strength of the lock on the main room door, the basic comforts and luxuries that would be provided, and had approved. He had taken his wing brothers aside and explained his plans. All they had to do was wait until the time was right.

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The Lookout, several days later.

"I love this place," Elita purred as they both uplinked to the satellite to check on its status and any new arrivals to be expected. "Prowl and Hound are joining us," she noted. Optimus looked grave, his optics half-shuttered. "That means we will have to tell Prowl about Jazz," he said, a tinge of sadness colouring his voice. "They were bonded."

Elita winced. Although not yet bonded to Optimus, she hoped to be at some stage, perhaps when the situation on Earth was more predictable. She already found that she hated it when their work shifts did not coincide, she could not imagine the pain Prowl would feel. "Won't he know already?" she asked. Optimus shook his head gravely. "Not necessarily, there are other things that can break a bond other than death. However, I suspect that in his Spark he will know, but probably he won't want to believe it." The Autobot leader sighed before unshuttering his optics and capturing Elita's gaze with his own.

"It means we will still have to tell him and show him the body." He shook his big silver and blue head sadly. "Then he can start to grieve, as I suspect he won't until he knows beyond any doubt." Elita snuggled up closer to give support, her optics lighting on the Seekers, who were ahead, looping and cavorting in the air.

"They're here again," she said without concern. "I guess the flying conditions must be good up here." As it was the same direction as the sunset, they stood and watched the Seekers for a few moments. The sight of blaster fire from one Seeker to the other was shocking to them, nobody had ever heard of two Seekers from the same side battling it out before, and they both watched intently as two of the three shapes exchanged fire, the third flitting out of the way of some stray shots. Then one of them was hit, and Optimus and Elita pulled to the side as they realised the injured Seeker was setting a course for the Lookout, the highest point of ground for miles.

As he came closer, one wing damaged and trailing brown smoke, they could see it was Thundercracker. Elita winced. The paint was peeling back, the entry hole was blackened, and both Autobots could smell the acrid stench of half-melted electricals and cabling. Elita had activated her arm-blaster, just as Optimus had brought out his swords, but she deactivated it, flipping the cannon back into an arm and hand when she saw the injury was unfeigned. She moved to go forward but Optimus, having put away his swords, waved her back, reaching to clasp the Seeker about the waist while tipping backwards to support his back and wings.

"Elita, watch my back, he insisted, although it seemed the other two Seekers had vanished. She turned, her back to his, optics scanning the sky. Optimus asked "Thundercracker, what happened?" as he lowered the blue mech to the ground. He figured he'd need Ratchet's help for this, and commed him to bring tarpaulins and his flatbed.

"Starscream's gone mad, I don't know why, he just suddenly started firing at me!" he said, his voice laced with pain. "Please, what's happened to Skywarp. He was firing at him too!"

"I don't know," he said, scanning the sky briefly with his optics himself. "Look, you're safe now, I've called Ratchet, we'll take you and look after you." "Thank you,." said Thundercracker. "I'm very grateful, I-"

Optimus and Elita never got a chance to hear any more as a bang of displaced air just ten feet in front and thirty feet above Optimus heralded Skywarp's arrival. As Optimus looked up, one of Thundercracker's arms came up, the knuckle-claws raking across Optimus's face. Optimus instinctively reached up to protect his optics, dropping to a crouch to dodge, and that was when Skywarp dropped Starscream, whom he had held suspended beneath him.

Elita was still stood upright, but barely had time to react before Starscream grabbed her cannon-arm with one hand and her waist – trapping her other arm against her side as he did so - with the other. As he angled upwards, Elita shouting and struggling in his grip, Skywarp swooped down to grab Thundercracker by the upper arms, who abruptly stopped attacking Optimus and let go. Skywarp jerked his injured wing brother up in a plate-rattling jerk, and then the two disappeared.

Starscream and the still-shouting Elita were now quite far up. Optimus got out his arm-cannon. They weren't out of range of that! As he lifted to get the receding dot in his sights he realised that at that distance his accuracy would be in question. Even if not, shooting Starscream could mean he dropped Elita. Optimus dropped his cannon as he watched, helpless to intervene, then folded into alt. Perhaps he could track them from below and find out where their base was?

He managed to follow them for a few minutes but then another dot appeared from nowhere in the sky, flew over to the other two, and then they all disappeared. It seemed Starscream had either planned this out earlier, or had spotted their pursuit and called Skywarp to whisk them away. For now, there was nothing he could do.

That did not mean there was nothing he could do at all. He commed the Base, calling a meeting of Ironhide, Ratchet, Mirage, Bumblebee and the five femmes from Elita's team.

It might take time, but they would search for her, find her, and get her back.


	3. Chapter 3

Culture Shock.

Chapter Two.

Although Elita stopped struggling once Starscream had achieved altitude – she had no desire to plummet from a height - she kept talking. She shouted, cajoled, asked what he was doing, why he wanted her, but he did not answer, just kept his grip about her tightly. She could see, over Starscream's wing, Optimus trying to follow on the ground, but a few moments later Skywarp turned up, flew to join them, gripped hold of them both and warped them to a different point.

They were so low to the ground that Starscream immediately reduced his thrust as Skywarp released them, and he landed on his feet, walking towards a plain unmarked building that he had to dip his head down to enter. Elita began to struggle again, but Starscream's grip on her was so tight that her struggles did nothing except slow the big Seeker down. Even kicking at his joints didn't seem to do much good as he carried her into the building.

There was another mech, a big brown mech who looked fairly cheerful as he stood behind a big metal worktable, turning from affixing a temporary patch to the injured Seeker's wing. "Now, Thundercracker, I'll fix that properly once I've dealt with our latest guest, not to mention find out how you got shot while out on what I thought was a routine fun-flight," he said, his voice sounding as cheerful as he looked.

"That would be because I shot him, with his agreement, to distract Optimus and his femme," Starscream said. "Skywarp, help me hold her down." Elita felt Skywarp grab hold of her ankles as Starscream tilted her to lay her down on her back, face-up on the worktable.

"Get your hands off me! Let me go!" she shouted, trying not to let the fear she was feeling show in her voice. "What do you think you are doing?" She felt Starscream grab her other arm, pulling it and her cannon-arm up above her head, while Skywarp held her ankles in one hand and lay a heavy arm over her thighs to restrain her. Starscream pinned her arms down, and then said "Okay, Dr Syn, could you numb her and deactivate her weapons and communications, and any location devices?"

"I won't hurt you, I promise," the brown mech who must have been the medic tried to soothe. "We just don't want you shooting up the building it's taken the others so long to build, or calling down an attack upon us." As she writhed and roundly cursed him, he used one hand to pin her body to the table and another to open a side panel, his fingers reaching in, tweaking a few wires, and Elita felt her upper body go numb. Lacking the ability to use her weapons, she instead used her mouth to shoot off a few well-chosen, angry curses. "Ooh what foul language, Starscream could learn a few good ones off you," was his only response.

He reached higher up, opened a panel in her arm, and although she felt a few tugs, there was no pain, even as the medic removed several small chips and components. Flipping open a panel on her abdomen made her tense a bit, but his hands were gentle as he did something inside her that eliminated her ability to com. He checked for and found all her armour compartments, checking the contents and removing anything sharp, pointed, explosive or remotely like a weapon or homing device before restoring her feeling and closing the panels.

"Okay, now to get you to your new accommodation," Starscream said as he scooped her up again. Elita shutter-blinked, because it was the first time he had addressed her. "New accommodation?" she repeated queryingly, even as she struggled again, and as Skywarp wrapped his arms around them. "I'm hardly going to quarter you with the mechs for the next orn," he said. She opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment Skywarp teleported them away.

As Skywarp stepped back in the small room they had materialised in, Starscream set Elita down on her own two feet. She wavered a bit, regaining her balance and equilibrium. As she steadied and turned to demand of Starscream just what was going on, she saw Skywarp embrace him again.

"Hey, wait a moment!" she shouted, lunging at them to stop them but her hand closed on empty air as the two Seekers vanished with a pop of displaced air. She ground her dentaplates angrily, and took a quick look around the room.

There wasn't a great deal in it: a plain berth, big enough for her to lie full length on, a small shelf containing two cubes of energon, and two doors, opposite each other. She tried both the doors, but as she suspected they were both locked. She tried fiddling with them, trying various guessed spoken passwords but none of it worked. She grimaced, baring her dentaplating in frustration.

She turned to the shelf with the energon. She drew back one arm, intending to sweep it off the shelf and shatter the cubes on the floor. At the last moment she stopped herself, suddenly mindful that she had no idea how long she would be here, or how often, if at all, the energon might be replaced. This might be all she had for some time, so instead she sat on the berth moodily, picking up one of the cubes and gazing into its scintillating depths.

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Autobot Base.

"I would say that the fact they took her alive means that it's important to them that she stays alive," Ratchet said. "That gives us hope. Perhaps they mean to use her as a hostage or a bargaining chip. That may mean they will be in contact with us soon, although I am not for a moment suggesting that we not search." "Cliffjumper and I can quarter up the suspect area, if we see anything that requires closer investigation, we can call Mirage to go in," Bumblebee suggested. "Actually, may I suggest that the five of us assist?" asked Chromia, standing. "Our alts are less well-known so even if _you_ are seen, our presence would probably not raise suspicions."

They all looked at Optimus, who nodded. "May I suggest that you split into two teams and alternate your shifts? Too many vehicles might raise too many suspicions, plus Bumblebee can go to a different area, drawing attention to himself to make you less visible." He looked at Bumblebee, who nodded. "By all means search, but draw the attention of any observer away from the other searchers." He looked around the room.

"Ratchet, be ready to answer any communication from the Decepticon base, you're the best negotiator we have," he said. "Mirage, I'll contact SecDef Keller to give you access to satellite images, you check them for any signs that might indicate the location of the Decepticon base, also be ready to respond to any communication from our searchers. Bumblebee, Chromia, sort out your search teams and rotas. Ironhide, you make any adaptations to weapons or armour you deem necessary to keep the other femmes safe from being abducted."

"You think that might happen? That being a femme could be a factor in her abduction?" the Weapons Specialist asked. "The Decepticons, to our knowledge, have had no femmes land, and the AllSpark has been destroyed," Optimus stated. "We cannot rule out the possibility that Elita has been taken because the Decepticons wish to reproduce."

"I have some small devices that I can install to give them some measure of protection, plus some close-range weapons that will not kill but should give them a fighting chance of disabling an opponent long enough to get away," Ironhide said. "If you femmes come to me after this, it won't take long to outfit you." The five nodded.

"Has anybody got anything else to add?" Optimus asked. "What will you do in the meantime?" asked Ironhide. "I can't see you just sitting around waiting for news while Elita's a Decepticon captive." Optimus smiled, a tight, small smile.

"I will be out searching myself, which is what the Decepticons will expect. Perhaps if they are watching me, they will not watch all you so closely. Any more questions or comments?" he invited. There were none.

"Then this meeting is over," Optimus said. "You may go. Good luck, and thank you."

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Starscream counted just over a human hour before Barricade commed, asking to come in. He acknowledged and as the frontliner stalked in, Starscream read the belligerent posture and stiff, angry way the frontliner held his body, and wondered who had seen him and Skywarp bring in the femme, and then informed the whole Base.

"Yes?" he asked sharply, in his usual acerbic manner. "What do you want, Barricade?" "I see your morals have deserted you quickly enough, it's good to know you've seen sense. However, seeing as the rest of us, us _grounders_ built the building you've put her in, it seems unfair that the Seekers will keep the femme for themselves."

Starscream let out an exaggerated sigh through his vents, trying not to look like he would enjoy the next few moments, those where he took the arrogant frontliner down a strut or two. "As usual, Barricade, the subtleties and the reality of the situation elude you. It's a shame you can't see beyond your own narrow perception of things," he said boredly.

"Dropkick told me you came in with a femme, and that she's been locked away in one of the rooms of the building," Barricade said. "How did Dropkick know what happened to her in the medbay?" Starscream asked. "Only the medic and the trine were present." He fixed Barricade with a look. "Dropkick was listening at the door, just in case of something like this, the Seekers keeping something to themselves so us ground-types miss out." He sounded defiant, not the least bit contrite.

Starscream huffed again, glaring at Barricade. "And from that you infer that we have stolen away an Autobot femme and will force her to bear sparklings for us?" he asked. "Well, from what was seen and heard by Dropkick, she was shouting and struggling." Barricade replied. "When I tried the door into the new building - which I assume is where she is - it was locked. That doesn't exactly sound as if she's here of her own free will, and you haven't come out to tell everybody else. What else am I meant to think?" His tone was challenging, his glare every bit as angry as the Seeker's.

"I told you recently that I was looking into our history to try and find out what we did when the AllSpark was not used for all sparkling creation, and I have found my answer. And no, she will not be forced, by Seekers _or_ grounders. If she chooses to, with whom and with how many will be up to her."

Barricade looked surprised. "You mean she's agreed?" he asked. "Not as such, but it's a long story, do you have the patience to listen to my explanation?" Starscream asked. Holding back a snarl, Barricade nodded his agreement.

"Millennia ago, Barricade, femmes were as rare as they are now," Starscream told him, slipping easily into his lecturing mode. "The Decepticons were not united as they are now, they were fragmented into many small tribes. There were maybe only two or three femmes for each tribe of between sixty and a hundred mechs. There was a solution to this situation, a solution that has been detailed more than once in Decepticon history, a solution that became an acceptable part of Decepticon culture. The situation is this..."

As Starscream continued to explain, Barricade leaned forwards, interest evident in his features. His confusion faded and he nodded. Starscream smiled and couldn't resist adding "Now it's just up to Elita to see sense." "You have taken Elita?" he said, and Starscream fancied that he heard grudging admiration in Barricade's voice. "I took her almost out of Optimus' arms," the Seeker bragged. "With my wing brothers' help of course, and so they were in the know because they had to be. Hopefully she will realise that Optimus talks big words, but when it comes to actions, pretty words and promises will not care for her or protect her."

"So, has she come around?" asked Barricade curiously, for that did not seem to be the fiery femme's style. "Not yet," Starscream admitted, "but according to rules drawn up at the time, I have the time to persuade her to change her mind, and tomorrow, I'll move on to the next phase."


	4. Chapter 4

Culture Shock.

Chapter Three.

A/N: The purple wax was conceived by Dena Grey and the Nerdene Hyrde.

Ironhide had decided, while waiting for Ratchet to install the various personal electromagnetic pulse generators, electro-shock knuckle studs, wrist blades and hand, foot, elbow and knee spikes the femmes had chosen, that he would lead one of the scouting teams. Bumblebee had readily agreed, but six hours later, with nothing to show for it, he was regretting it.

He and his team – comprised of Chromia, Arcee, and Flareup –had all gone out knowing that they might find nothing, but knowing beforehand and actually going out and finding nothing to indicate where the Base's location was, or any signs that might give them any clue, were two different things. The femmes were unhappy about the situation, about their inability to find anything helpful, and Ironhide knew that unhappy femmes would only make the general atmosphere at the Autobot base more tense.

As darkness continued to fall, potentially concealing any tracks, he called for a halt to the search until dawn the next day.

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Elita had waited for a joor before deciding to risk going into light recharge. She set her audios to rouse her in the event of suspicious noises, and set a proximity alarm so she would be aware of any unexpected visitors.

It was the audio alarm that jerked her to full awareness, the sound of a door opening, and she crouched, ready to spring forwards or to one side as she turned to face the direction of the sound.

One of the locked doors from earlier stood open, and Elita moved to flatten herself against the nearest wall as she tried to see where it led to, creeping closer and closer, stretching her audios to maximum. When she ascertained that there were no sounds of movement from within, she risked sticking her head out for a quick look.

Her quick glance told her that there was nobody else in the room beyond, although the room had some furnishings and was larger than the one she currently occupied. She picked up the empty energon cube from the night before - the other was still full - and wedged it in the way of the door. She didn't want to be walking into a situation that could easily be a trap without the option to retreat.

This room contained two chairs and a table, and on the table were four items that appeared to be made of gold. As she approached and scanned them, she realised that they were mostly gold, with enough of another metal mixed with it to make the items rigid enough to keep their form. In the opposite wall there was another door. Walking around the table she tried it, and as expected, found it to be locked. Turning her back on the door, she went back to the table to examine its contents more closely.

The items appeared to be two drinking vessels, both filled with energon, a flagon containing more energon, plus a smaller dish containing small irregular blue cubes. All four items had been worked by someone who had fashioned the outside with spirals and wavy lines, a simple but attractive repeating design, and attractively coloured, polished, and cut stones – many considered precious by the natives of this world- were set into the metal. She noticed that one of the drinking vessels had the glyphs for her name stamped into it. Ignoring it, she bent to examine the smaller dish and the blue lumps within.

They appeared to her optics and her scanners to be home-made energon sweets. Someone here had made them, and had not only brewed energon, but had managed to add the right chemical compounds and created the right environmental conditions to convert it into the sweeter, and rarer, blue variety. Then the energon must have been filtered and distilled so often that the resulting concentrate had solidified, and then been cut down into fingertip-sized pieces.

She carefully picked one up, sniffed at it, and then carefully put it in her mouth, allowing the sensors within to analyse it. As her scanners had told her, it seemed to be nothing more than the confection it appeared to be, slightly too sweet for Elita's personal taste, but tasting very nice all the same.

A slight sound, that of an opening door, jerked her attention back up. Sure enough, the door behind her was opening, and behind it stood Starscream.

She tensed, getting ready to pick up one of the goblets and throw it if he tried anything, but he must have noticed her tension for he did not approach, but bowed deeply from the waist, holding something in his arms close to his chest as he did so. The obsequious gesture from the oft-arrogant Seeker surprised her, but not so much that she lost the power of speech.

"What do you want, Starscream? What is the meaning of this imprisonment? It is somewhat better accommodation than I was expecting, which makes me wonder why you have made the effort in the first place."

As Starscream straightened up, putting down his bundle first, she noticed how the lighting in the room reflected off his armour and seemed to flow along and across it with every movement he made. He appeared to be very recently polished, polished to a fine shine, she had to admit. He reached his hands in her direction, but stopped when he noticed her tense up again. He looked at her and made a quicker and shallower bow before speaking.

"Beautiful, fierce Elita-One, you are intelligent and direct as well," he said. "Please, I mean no trickery, and neither will I attempt to force myself upon you, a promise I give you upon my Spark, my honour as a Seeker, and my wings."

This was one threat that Elita had been concerned about with the loss of the AllSpark, but Starscream's promise, sworn upon a trine of things precious to him –his life, his Seeker honour, and even that which enabled his flight - reassured her of his sincerity: he, at least, would not force her.

"What about the others?" she asked, well aware that his own morals might not be a reflection of all his Decepticons. His reaction to that was to bare his teeth, move his armour into battle-readiness, and flex his digits so every knuckle-claw stood out sharply from his hands. Unnerved by the response, she backed up against the table, ready to defend herself if need be. Again, he did not approach, but neither did he relax his aggressive pose. Instead, he spoke again, his voice sharp and clipped.

"I would hope that all my mechs are bound by the racial abhorrence regarding the forcing of another, but I am aware that morals can degrade over time or when circumstances change as they have here." He paused, and then went on. "However, I am the only mech who knows the entry code for this suite of rooms, but even if the situation where you might be forced arose, I would personally rip any mech who tried limb from limb. I can and I will defend you, beautiful Elita, and all my mechs know it." Starscream reminded himself to tell all the mechs this: if they didn't all know now, they would very soon.

Elita stared at him, taking in again the awesome, fearful magnificence of the fully-polished Seeker at battle readiness, the words he spoke holding the ring of truth. Nothing she had ever experienced or read about Decepticons had prepared her for this, and she found herself speaking to him in an attempt to clear up her confusion.

"Starscream, this is entirely unexpected. Of anything I might be expecting, this was not it. I am very grateful that I am being treated so civilly, but I am still curious as to why."

Starscream nodded briefly. "Please, may I approach? If we can sit and talk over the energon that has been put out, I believe we would both be more comfortable, and perhaps less wary of each other." As drinking energon with somebody was an agreement not to attack each other for both factions, Elita nodded slowly, picking up the beautifully-wrought goblet with her name on it and taking a mouthful of the contents inside.

The energon it held was not to the same standard as Ratchet's, but better than the cubes in the first room, and still surprisingly good, if a tad more sour than she had become accustomed to since arriving at the Autobot Base. She took another appreciative mouthful as Starscream stooped to pick up his bundle and slowly advanced into the room.

"Please, sit down," he invited. "It is seen in human society as both a more and a less formal set up than standing, more because it equalises everybody except the very tall or short, and less so because it allows the lower limbs and the back the chance to relax." He was now close enough to reach out a long arm for his own goblet, raising it to his mouth and making sure she was watching before he took a deep swallow from it. In both their customs, now both had drank, for either to attack the other without provocation would mean breaking an ancient custom, an act both Starscream and Elita knew was as taboo, if not more so, than forcing another or killing a sparkling.

Both seemed to relax from that point, Elita climbing into the chair and allowing its carefully contoured surfaces to support her back and legs and arms, while Starscream slipped into the other, which was slightly more flared at the top to support his big wings. As he had promised, they were more level in the chairs than out of them, his head only slightly higher than hers, and he equalised their head-heights by leaning over the table towards her, and smiling.

"Please, drink up, there is more where that came from for such as you," he told her. "Meaning?" she asked sharply, her own head snapping upright, her back snapping up to attention again. Starscream did not seem either surprised or affronted at this, but gave her a disarming smile. Once again he leaned forward from the waist and inclined his head in a respectful bow. "Meaning that you are an honoured guest here, and I have extra energon ready to be laid on to make your stay here as comfortable as possible," he replied.

"My stay here?" she asked, seizing on that. "So you are planning on keeping me a prisoner?" she asked. "For no longer than custom permits, Elita, but do not worry about that." He stood again, making Elita tense up, but then he put one part of his bundle on the table, and shook out the other, holding it up for her inspection. She had been about to ask him to clarify what he had said about custom, but what he showed her drove the question from her processors.

She gasped as the Seeker's action made the cloth-of-gold fabric he held billow out before falling in heavy folds. The item was obviously a cloak, which appeared to be made almost entirely out of fine threads of gold, and if her optics did not deceive her, its width and length appeared made to fit somebody more of her build than his.

"I obtained the gold for all these items by refining it from the sea. We needed to employ the services of another craftsmech to make the fabric for us, but I personally cut the fabric and sewed it into a cloak for you," Starscream said, deciding that telling her that the "craftsmech" was a human who was killed shortly after would unfairly prejudice his appeal.

"Why – it's beautiful!" she said truthfully. "I think it will look more beautiful mounted upon the shoulders of she whom it was made for," he said, motioning for her to turn. Turning one's back on a Decepticon in battle was one of the worst mistakes you could make, she knew, but they had drank energon together and he had so far made no threats...

Deciding to trust him this time - for had he wanted to take advantage he could have attempted to long ago – she turned her back, her armour prickling, waiting for the first strike of a blade or energy weapon, which never came. Instead she felt the heavy cloth-of-gold settled gently on her shoulders, Starscream's hands coming over her shoulders and moving together in front of her throat briefly to connect the clasp - which had more gemstones set into it - and then settle the magnet fastening at the top of her chest. The magnet held the clasp firmly, the cloak falling to just below her ankles and hanging heavily but comfortably about her back, shoulders and arms.

As she turned to look at him, she noticed he was now holding a fine-linked chain of gold, which he quickly moved to her head, fitting three pre-prepared rings of links over her head branches. They held the rest in place, and she could feel multiple loops of chain hanging between the branches around the back, at and along the sides of her head and across her forehead, from her right to her left branch. It did not feel awkward or cumbersome, but felt pretty and light, well-balanced.

As the Seeker stepped back and gave her another respectful bow, she raised her hands to the jewellery, her fingertips brushing against the links lightly, setting them to swinging. Starscream straightened from his bow, and the look he swept her with was clearly admiring.

"Elita, you look stunning, although I believe I have some wax which would enhance the shine on your armour." He opened a compartment in his leg, removing a small tin and an assortment of polishing cloths. When he opened the tin, she caught a glimpse of a wax with a purplish sheen inside before he rubbed a polishing cloth in it and then moved towards her. "Please, allow me to polish you so that your shine may rival my own."

_That_ offer made Elita step back twice and raise her arms ready to strike if he moved closer. It was a fairly well-known fact even amongst non-Seekers that most Seekers saw polishing as a prelude to more intimate contact, up to and including interfacing and sparkmerge. He had promised not to force himself upon her, but he had spoken of custom, presumably Decepticon custom, not a subject she knew much about. For all she knew, drinking energon with him or accepting his gifts may have constituted her acceptance of him, without her even knowing about it.

However, Starscream ceased his movements the moment she moved back, although she saw disappointment flicker in his optics. He extended the hand holding the cloth and the one holding the wax, turning his attempt to approach and polish into an offer of the cloth and the wax. "Or perhaps you may wish to carry out the polishing yourself?" he asked. When she still didn't move, he slowly knelt, putting the cloths and polish on the floor, before rising and walking slowly backwards.

Realising that he was trying to show he was no threat, she slowly advanced and picked up the items, then moved back to one of the chairs. Depositing the tin on the table, she began using the wax on the cloth, applying it to one of her legs, then using another cloth to remove any excess and rub the armour to a shine. Starscream had not been exaggerating when he had talked about the shine: she was so pleased with the results that she began using it on the rest of her body, aware of Starscream's optics on her but not really caring.

As she finished, pleased with the smoothness and shine the wax had given her armour, only then did she notice that she was no longer aware of Starscream's gaze. As she looked up and scanned the room with her optics, she realised that he hadn't just stopped looking, but that he had left the room.

Moving to the doors again, she checked first one and then the other. The one leading to her original room was still open, but she swore quietly as she realised the other one, the one Starscream had entered through and apparently exited through, was once again locked shut.


	5. Chapter 5

Culture Shock.

Chapter Four.

"Yes, what is it that couldn't wait a bit?" asked Starscream as he walked into the main communication room, annoyed at being dragged away from watching the leggy Elita polishing herself to a shine.

"Optimus Prime has been flooding all communications channels with a demand to speak to you. He will not be put off any more, although I have tried. I thought you'd like to decide what to do about it without any distractions," his blue wing brother, now fully repaired, explained.

"Very well, put him on the screen," Starscream said, drawing himself to the highest he could stand comfortably and allowing his battle-armour to stand out from his body, making him look bigger and more imposing, as Optimus appeared on the big screen. Starscream almost flinched, but managed to control himself, for Optimus was leaning in close to the screen, his optics a bright, flaring blue. Starscream had never seen the Autobot leader this angry before.

"Starscream, you have abducted one of my soldiers and are obviously holding her against her will. I demand that you return her to us unharmed, or I will be forced to take action against you." The Autobot's voice was not any louder than usual, but his voice had taken on a steely, determined tone.

Starscream paused a moment for effect, and then spoke.

"If you cannot stop me from taking her from you, then what right do you have to call yourself her protector? I took her from you and there was nothing you could do. She is safe, and will remain unharmed, but custom dictates that I have an orn to persuade her that I am a better proposition for a mate. Be well aware, Optimus Prime, that should you attack during my permitted time, we will fight you to the last drop of energon in our tubes." He signalled Thundercracker to cut the connection.

"Continue to monitor, but let me know if anything else demands my attention, he told the blue Seeker. "Short of a full-on attack, I cannot think of anything that might, but I will leave my com line open just in case. However, I now have a femme to woo." With that, he turned and left the room.

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"Well, that creates more questions than it answered," Ratchet observed. "Indeed," Optimus said. "He did say she was unharmed, and that she would continue to be, but we have no idea if he is telling the truth." "What I found interesting was Starscream's body language and speech patterns," Ratchet said. At a querying look followed by a nod from Optimus, he continued.

"Starscream's armour was shinier than it usually is. Of course, it could just be coincidence, maybe he had decided to give himself a good polish anyway, but he was also standing straighter, his wings were pulled more upright, making him look taller, and his armour was fully expanded. On both Cybertron and Earth, making yourself look bigger and meaner is typical of two emotions, either fear, or anger, and his attitude did not suggest fear."

"He did not seem particularly angry, either," Optimus replied. "No, he didn't did he?" Ratchet agreed. "Which suggests a third reason, one I believe may be backed up by something he said. I believe humans would call it a 'threat-aggression display'. "Explain," Optimus said.

"On Earth, some animals use it both as an attraction mechanism for the females of their kind, and also as a non-lethal way of asserting dominance amongst other males," Ratchet elaborated. "Some animals use combat, but others bluff, making themselves look and seem fiercer than they are, in the hope that the other males of their kind choose not to risk a fight, and back down. I believe that Starscream is doing this. His appearance and his words were a challenge, but he is hoping that you will not call his bluff, and will back down."

"He also spoke of custom, but I know of no custom that matches what he has done," Optimus said. "I have initiated a search in the stored data I managed to retrieve before I left Cybertron, but it will take time to collate them, and more time to search through each one in turn. I do not possess all the knowledge, much was lost when we had to flee, but it is the best I can do."

"I also have repositories of knowledge, and as a negotiator, I believe mine may contain more information relating to Cybertronian customs and history than yours. I will search my knowledge banks too, and perhaps between us we can work this out. I suggest we meet tomorrow, or sooner if the need arises, and compare what we have."

Optimus nodded, and set off to his office. He was having another tactical meeting with a number of human generals, and hoped that Prowl could take on most of the burden, for this issue was already giving him a processor-ache, and he didn't need another to add to it.

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Elita had finished polishing herself, Starscream noticed, but his disappointment was tempered by the beautiful shine the polishing had given the pink and white femme. She was sitting, still wearing the cloak and jewellery, but stood again as he entered, and he was disappointed to see that her stance was still defensive. He gave a silent sigh, he supposed it was natural, but it was still discouraging.

Stopping out of his arm's reach of her he bowed deeply, just as he had when he first entered, before slowly walking over to the other chair and settling himself in it, affecting a relaxed pose. He picked up his goblet and drank it, reaffirming the non-aggression custom, and watched as she cautiously sat back down and herself took a mouthful. Starscream noticed that she had removed the cloth of gold cloak, carefully draping it over the back of the seat. She noticed the direction of his gaze, turning at the waist to follow it before turning back to look at him.

"Forgive me, but it is very heavy to wear and I'm unused to the feel of it. I removed it for the purpose of polishing my upper body, and have decided for now not to put it back on. I am not refusing it, merely taking a rest from wearing it. It reminds me of formal, ceremonial wear from processions and inaugurations. You spoke of formality and informality, and if you want us to be more informal, I would be more comfortable not wearing it for now."

He had to admit that he was surprised, for she seemed to not only be trying to relax herself, but apologising for her actions for fear she would offend him. He briefly considered whether this was a good or bad thing, and then classed it as good, for he wanted her to relax, to feel safe in his presence. He nodded and smiled.

"Please, there is no need to apologise, you are just as lovely whether you wear it or not. It is yours, it is for you to decide when and if to wear it. However, I noticed as you turned that you have a patch on your back that has not been polished. From the positioning of it, I would assume it is either very difficult or impossible for you to reach. If you would permit it, I could do that for you?"

When she stiffened, raising a hand and shaking her head, he sighed again.

"Elita, we have drunk energon together, and I have promised not to force you. May I ask what you are so frightened of?" Elita decided it was a fair question, and decided to answer it. "I am very well aware that for many of our kind, and especially for Seekers, polishing is used as a prelude to interface. I do not wish to interface with you, Starscream, and allowing you to polish me might give you the opposite impression."

Starscream gave her a smile. "If that is it, then the answer seems simple. I can control myself, Elita, and as you have plainly explained that you do not want interface, I will not expect it. However, that dull patch on your back does rather spoil the effect of the polish on the rest of your body. As you cannot reach it, I merely offer you a chance to remedy that."

Elita considered it, and then nodded her assent. As long as he understood that this was nothing more than finishing a job, it would be fine, and he'd indicated that he meant nothing more. As she turned her back, Starscream picked up the polishing cloth and tin of wax from the table, and approached. He rubbed some polish onto the cloth, then gently and carefully applied it with strokes and dabs to the dull patch on her back, then switched cloths to rub it in.

Small circular motions changed to bigger ones as he worked his way out towards the already-polished parts of her body, and then he was changing his motions as he blended the new polished area into the edges of the areas she had polished herself, blending the two edges together so the join wasn't noticeable. He took the cloth a bit further, over her rounded shoulder armour, and back down to her back, making sure any small scuffs or slight imperfections were not missed.

He drew the smell of the polish in to his body through his vents, channelling the air over olfactory sensors that registered the aroma, beginning to purr as he brought the cloth over her shoulder armour again, then down her arm as he noticed a slight blemish by her elbow. His other hand slid unconsciously down her arm, mimicking the actions of the one polishing, and he felt her relax and lean into the touch. He lowered his head, and gave the other shoulder a quick nuzzle.

She flinched at the contact, and said "No!" and it was at that point that he realised his actions might be misconstrued, and he pulled back, backing away several steps. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it," he said. "Amongst Seekers, such contact is common, even amongst those who are just friends. Touch is almost like another language to us, as we are so sensitive, and my touches were those of a friend. I apologise if I caused you distress."

Elita relaxed again, for he honestly seemed distressed. She nodded slowly. The experience had not actually been unpleasant, just a surprise. The touches could hardly be construed as particularly intimate, and nuzzling was a common form of contact even in grounder circles, though it was mostly a parent-to-child form of touch. As Starscream packed away the polishing items, she reflected that he was, it seemed, a mech of his word, and she began wondering, if touch was like another language to him, how well he 'spoke' it. Although she tried to squash the thought, once she'd thought it, she found the question would not leave her mind.

"It's okay," she moved to reassure him, for he looked almost ready to bolt, his optic shutters blinking rapidly as he worried he might have offended her. "Please, sit down." To her relief he did as she asked, and she smiled at him in reassurance. Part of her said that this was ridiculous, that she was comforting her captor, but another part told the first part to go to the Pit.

"I am curious about what you said," she admitted slowly, "about touch. Can I assume that there is much touch that is innocent, and between friends, just as in language there are many words that are used between friends that have nothing to do with intimacy?"

"Your assumption would be correct," he replied. "Touch has many innocent forms, and there are different forms depending on the relationship between people – parent and child, brother and sister, friends and colleagues," he explained. "The touch you might give to one who has done you a favour is very different to the sort of touch you would use with somebody who is injured and frightened, and that would be different to the touch you would use with a dear and long-term friend with whom you have no more intimate contact." He stood, half-reaching his arms out towards her shoulders again. "I could show you, teach you, if you like."

He knew he'd said the wrong thing when she slid sideways out of the chair. "N – no, I think not," she as she backed off. He raised his hands palm-out and sat back down, and gave her what he hoped would be a comforting smile. "Forgive me, as a Seeker I am so used to touch that I sometimes cannot conceive how you live without it. Please sit down, you said 'no' so I'll respect that."

"We don't live without touch, we're just not so touch-orientated as you are," she said as she moved back into her chair. "But as a Seeker, is it not true that you would try it on?" "Not necessarily," he replied. "Not even just a little bit?" she asked, and he was gratified to see that she seemed to be calming down, relaxing slightly, the tone of her voice and the half-smile on her face suggesting that now she was teasing. Well, if she was going to make light of it, so would he. "Well, maybe just a bit," he replied in the same way. "After all, I _am_ a Seeker." He looked at her again, this time being serious. "But it stops when someone says 'no'." Again, he smiled, making his next sentence half-joking. "At least, until the _next_ time I forget, and have to be told 'no' again."

Elita laughed, and her body grew less rigid as she leaned forward on the table, telling Starscream that his self-deprecating comment had been the right thing to say. As she took another drink of her energon, he lifted the tray of sweeties and leaned across the table, offering her one. She took one, and he put the tray down, taking one himself and drinking from his own goblet. He mused on what to say next, for although the awkward moment had been smoothed over, too much silence would have the same effect.

It was Elita who spoke next, however, indicating the food, the cloak and him in one graceful gesture. "So what's all this about? The gifts, the attention, the courtesy? You said something about custom earlier, keeping me 'for as long as custom permits.' Perhaps if I understand what this custom is, I will know far more where I stand."

"There are some things I cannot tell you, as it might affect what I am currently trying to achieve if you knew it all, but there are some things, I can explain," he said. "For example, where you stand while you are here." As he began to explain, Elita listened intently.

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The meeting with the generals had ended, and Optimus was quite pleased with the results, for although they could be bull-headed about some things, once Prowl (who had seemed to intuit that Optimus needed a rest) diplomatically explained why some of their ideas were unsound, impossible, or inappropriate, they had been fairly open-minded about it.

He was just checking over his schedule for the next week when Ratchet commed him. "Prime, I'm on my way to your office, I hope you're free, because I think I've found it and I need to discuss it with you."

A/N: Seeing as there currently seems to be no interest in this story, when it is updated will depend very much on hiow busy I am and whether I have ideas for it (or no ideas for other stories.) Completing this one is now a very low priority.


	6. Chapter 6

Culture Shock.

Chapter Five.

Optimus waited in his office, opening the door when Ratchet commed his arrival.

"You said you'd found the answer, "Optimus said as he pushed a suitable chair towards Ratchet, and then moved to draw them both a cube of energon from the dispenser on the wall. He gave Ratchet one cube, waiting until Ratchet was seated comfortably before settling himself into the steel-reinforced hardwood, marble, leather, and memory-foam chair made for him by a team of dedicated craftsmen in the Military. "Please elaborate."

"First, I must reassure you that if Elita is being held using the custom I suspect, she is safe and well. Violation of certain terms applicable with this custom would disgrace the mech who took her. One of those term, is is that the individual must be treated as well as or better than one of your own." Ratchet explained. "As I said earlier, due to my earlier diplomatic work, I have records of many customs, and some of them are ancient, dating back to pre-AllSpark times." He paused. "I have found one custom, that was almost exclusively Decepticon, that matches what we know. It was usually practiced between different Decepticon tribes, though there was one noted exception that finally forged a peace between Autobot and Decepticon that led to the First Golden Age of Cybertron."

He paused, looking to Optimus for permission to continue. Optimus, with a single nod, gave it.

"The custom evolved from the shortage of femmes in general in the Cybertronian populace, although there were more femmes then than when the AllSpark began being utilised more. Nobody knows if this was because more mechs were asked for from the AllSpark, or whether the AllSpark itself limited the number of femmes created. It could even be a combination of both." He paused, then went on.

"The custom was that a mech from one tribe was permitted to capture a femme from another, to try to court her. Custom permitted an orn for the mech in question to persuade the femme to come and stay with him, although the period of stay, if she chose to stay after the orn, could be determined by the femme. If she refused by the end of the orn, the mech, by tradition, must release her unharmed and unmolested back to the tribe of her choice. Although such kidnappings occasionally took place within tribes, it was rare, and to steal the femme of your own tribe leader generally invited a duel to the death. Usually the kidnapper would try to convince the femme he took that he was more worthy of her attentions, could protect her better, or could provide for her better, factors that could, in earlier times, affect her choice."

"What about exceptions? Were there any?" Optimus asked.

"Yes, there were," Ratchet answered. "For example, those known to be bonded to another were generally considered off-limits: that is, it could be done, but was often considered ill-mannered at best and useless at worst, as those bonded would never permanently leave. Also, although it was usually a femme who was taken, it was rare but not unknown for a Decepticon femme to steal a mech from a different tribe, or a mech to steal a mech, or a femme to take a femme."

"What about if I attempted to steal her back?" Optimus asked.

"I have never heard of it being done, so I would imagine that if you operate by custom, you would not do it. I cannot say what the consequences of such an action would be, as no record of such is recorded." Ratchet said apologetically, taking a swig of his energon before looking at Optimus queryingly. Still having several questions to ask, Optimus did not disappoint the medic.

"What about family members, or those considered as such? Was this custom, or variants of it, only used for reproductive purposes, or were there ever other motives?"

"It's interesting that you should mention that," Ratchet remarked, "because kidnapping was perfectly acceptable conduct for other reasons. The only condition was that the kidnapped person be kept in conditions that did not abrogate any specific need they might have. Just as, by this custom, Elita must be kept in conditions that do not leave her lacking in fuel, recharge, light, movement or the right to refuse her kidnapper's attentions, so must any person kidnapped under any variation of this custom must be kept."

"Okay," Optimus said, "I shall think over what you have told me. Thank you, Ratchet, I am at least reassured that Elita will not be badly treated." He paused before continuing. "I hope Starscream knows about the 'meeting needs' part of the custom."

"Knowing how Starscream, impatient though he be, values custom and being thorough, I would assume that he does," Ratchet said. "He did make a point of stating that Elita was safe and well, and I do not think, if he were doing this as custom demands, that he would deprive her of any of the prerequisites, and less likely still to lie about it," Ratchet said.

"I will think over what you have told me, and make my decision later," Optimus said.

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Starscream managed to persuade Elita that no harm would come to her during her stay without revealing either the length of her stay nor the purpose for it, the revealing of which he felt would be counter-productive. He did tell her it was an ancient, and once well-used tradition, of Decepticon origin, although he was not setting a precedent by using it with an Autobot.

For her part, she was able to relax, for he did promise that the period of her stay would not exceed one human month, and that she would be released unharmed. For this she was glad, because she was badly in need of recharge, something she had not dared reveal to the Seeker. The light recharge she had had earlier had been not even close to enough, and she knew she would soon run out of the energy to keep up the pretense of alertness. Knowing she would not be harmed meant she could relax her guard a little.

"Forgive me," she said "but I would like to rest now. Perhaps we can continue our discussions tomorrow?"

"Of course," Starscream said, but as she moved to head back to her original room, he shook his head and lightly took her arm, leading her towards the other door in the room.

"Please, Elita, that original room was by necessity basic, but if you come with me I have a far better place for you to rest." Elita was too tired to protest and allowed him to lead her through to where a large berth, big enough for her to stretch out on and room to spare, lay. It had a peculiar sheen to it, and Elita touched the surface curiously, and found it had a layer of gel cushioning. Although not strictly necessary, it was a nice touch, and Elita found herself eager to try it out.

She removed the head jewellery carefully and put it safely aside, and then climbed up and lay on the berth. She looked up from her reclining position to see Starscream watching her with anxious optics.

"Do you like it?" he asked, and she nodded with a smile.

"It is a most interesting sensation," she admitted. "It is comfortable, and I believe I can recharge on it with little need for my body to adjust." As a matter of fact, Elita was so weary that she could have recharged anywhere, but even with the new, slim bond of trust between them, she did not feel that Starscream needed to know how much in need of recharge she was, she didn't quite trust him _that_ much!

She lay back, and then rolled on her side, watching as Starscream walked out through another door in this new room. Reassured that she could recharge safely, she allowed her body to close down, stage by stage, until she was as deeply in recharge as she could go. Thus she did not notice when Starscream returned with a soft cover, made from several duvets stitched together, to cover her with. He carefully pulled the cover over her, a nice touch, he thought, and better than some ratty old tarp. He patted it down around her, checked that she hadn't moved, and then turned away.

He moved to leave, then looked back at Elita's slumbering form, her joints and lines softened by the padding in the cover. He knew he should just go, leave her, but she looked so comfortable there, so peaceful, and surely it wouldn't hurt? Truth be told, he could do with a recharge himself, and he could probably be awake before she was, and move, so she didn't have to know. The berth was big enough, that would not be an issue.

He carefully folded back the cover and climbed cautiously onto the berth, crawling on hands and knees until he was behind Elita. He lay down behind her, worked one arm under her waist and the other over, tightening his grip to pull her up against him. One of his feet hooked over her ankles to draw them in, and he briefly used the hand over her waist to pull her shoulders back against his own. Elita was so deeply out that she didn't even stir.

Starscream could have rested with his wing brothers, but he was tired, and knew they would want pre-recharge interface, which he just didn't feel like at the moment. A couple of hours curled up to the lovely Elita would recharge his batteries enough that he could accede to their demands later that night. The thought of recharging alone was alien to him, so Elita provided a no-ties partner for a brief snuggle and recharge. He hummed briefly as he flicked the cover back over the both of them. Happy and warm, with another warm body in his arms, he quickly dropped into recharge.

Having not set an alarm, and being perfectly comfortable in the situation he was in, Starscream did not wake a couple of hours later in order to slip out of the berth so Elita would never know. In fact, quite the contrary happened: when she awoke, he was still there, curled up to her back, arms locked around her, still recharging.


	7. Chapter 7

Culture Shock.

Chapter Six.

Starscream was rudely jolted out of recharge as Elita jerked her elbows and feet violently back against him, then thrashed wildly until he let her go. She rolled off the berth throwing aside the quilted cover as she did so and landed on her feet in a half-crouch, her arms and hands up defensively, her posture aggressive, her optics flashing angrily.

"You-you-I trusted you!" she said. "And you took advantage of me needing recharge! Well, you won't get the chance again, I promise you!" she told him.

"Please, Elita check your own sensors, I have done nothing except cuddle you, and I can explain that!" he pleaded. "Don't let this destroy all we've achieved, the trust, the friendship we have?"

"You've got a nerve!" she said.

"You yourself admitted that as a Seeker, I'd try it on a bit, but if you check yourself you'll notice that I'm telling the truth?"

She had to admit, as she checked her skin sensor logs, that indeed he was being truthful and that yes, as a Seeker, she'd expected him to try it on in some way, and had, in fact, been surprised at his restraint. And, okay, there were a few nuzzles and at least one kiss to her neck, but Elita suspected that these were unconscious actions. He had not touched her improperly, at least not while he was awake, and she began to calm down a bit, because if even a fifth of the little she'd heard about Seekers were true, he'd shown remarkable restraint.

"Okay, talk and explain, but I expect this to be good!" she warned him.

"I was tired myself, could have gone back with my wing brothers, but they would expect pre-recharge interfacing, and I didn't feel like it, I was too tired. You offered an alternative, cuddles without anything expected in return, an opportunity to recharge with somebody but without having to do something to get the company I'm used to. I've not recharged alone for vorns, Elita. I am sorry, I meant to set an alarm to wake me and let me slip off so you wouldn't have to know, but I forgot to set the alarm." He looked, Elita noticed, thoroughly miserable.

"So, you hoped to sneak off with me none the wiser?" she asked.

"Only for your peace of mind, Elita, I felt I needed the company, needed the recharge but if I did nothing more and you never knew, where would the harm have been in that?" he pleaded.

"Does this invalidate your keeping of me?" she asked, hoping that by overstepping the mark he would have to let her go. In fact, his explanation did mollify her because it made perfect sense, but if there was a possibility that he'd have to let her go, she'd take it!

"Oh, no, I haven't harmed you, I can only hope to regain the respect my actions towards you lost." he replied.

She suddenly had an awful fear that the loss of respect might give him more time, by custom, to keep her there, so she rushed to reassure him.

"No, no, Starscream, you've not lost what we had, respect or friendship or anything!" she said. "Your reasons make perfect sense and as you said you _are_ a Seeker, so I should expect it, and my sensors _do_ tell me you did nothing improper. It's okay, I'm sorry I overreacted. If you're not used to sleeping alone, the others you could have gone to expected something of you first, but you were too tired, your decision made perfect sense and I'm not offended, really I'm not," she said soothingly.

"Can I curl up with you later then?" he asked hopefully.

She levelled a finger at him. "Don't push it," she said, only half-seriously.

"But I'm a Seeker, I'm designed to push it," he replied in the same manner.

"Well, I'll only take so many Seeker vagarities at once, so _don't_," she said, but still feeling a bit playful.

"Seeker vagarities? Like this?" he asked teasingly, taking her hand and dropping a kiss on it as he made a courtly bow.

"Manners like _that_ I find acceptable," she said, mock primly, and was relieved to hear him laugh.

"We Seekers have many romantic gestures like that. Would you like to discover them, with my help, of course?"

"As long as they don't mean I accept things without knowing about them," she said, surprised that such an awkward encounter had so swiftly turned to playful banter. She hadn't known Starscream had it in him, and to be perfectly frank, she hadn't realised that she had it in herself, either.

"Do you like flying? I could take you up for a flight if you like," he said. Elita seized at the chance, she had not seen the outside for joors.

"I've never been flown with but I'm willing to try," she said. "Just one thing. Could you find some way of assuring Optimus that I'm okay? Perhaps take me to where he can see me and I can assure him I am not being mistreated?"

"I'm afraid that would be too risky, but you could put on your jewellery and cloak and record a holographic message if you like. I will have Thundercracker deliver it to the Autobot Base if you like."

'_Damn!'_ she thought, but at least she had tried. Her Spark ached for Optimus, she had hoped Starscream would let him see her, and had also hoped at a chance of escape, although that might still be possible. She smiled at Starscream, to put him at ease, and said "Yes please, that would be lovely." She put on the jewellery with Starscream's help, then let the Seeker give her armour a brief buffing before putting on the cloth of gold cloak. At his suggestion, she sat at the table with the energon sweets in front of her and holding the goblet of energon. With the scene set, Starscream began recording, and Elita began to speak.

"Optimus, this is Elita." She took a sip of energon. "As you can see I am undamaged and am being treated well." She ate an energon sweet. "Fuel is provided, as are sleeping quarters, and Starscream himself keeps me company most of the day." She took another mouthful of energon. "I have been promised I will not be harmed and will be released after an unspecified period of time. I thought you would appreciate the reassurance of this message. I love you and miss you, and hope to see you soon. Elita-One out."

Starscream finished recording and played back the message for Elita's approval, then called Thundercracker in. He took one look at her and bowed admiringly. When he straightened up, Starscream gave the chip to Thundercracker, who then played it back to her so she could see it was the same chip with the same message. Starscream took the cloak and jewellery off Elita, then took her hand and walked out with her and Thundercracker. Starscream reached around with his other hand to give Thundercracker a hug and a kiss and stroked his head a few times as Elita revelled in the feel of the outside air. Then Thundercracker took off, describing a lazy loop before heading off into the sky. Starscream put his arms out and picked Elita up, holding her firmly to his body as he said "Shall we find out how you take flying, Elita?"

"Certainly," she replied, and at that, Starscream leaped up and engaged his thrusters.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

It was while Starscream flew with her that the idea occurred to her. She wasn't sure why: perhaps it was the quiet, or the bracing air, or the view, but an idea that might prove beneficial to all suddenly struck her.

"Starscream, am I right in thinking that this period of captivity is designed to show me that you can provide for me, and of course any sparklings we have, better than Optimus could?"

"Indeed," he said. "You have seen the riches and energon I have provided you with, I can continue to make such available if you will come with me and let me be your mate."

"Starscream, I am afraid that nothing you have shown me has convinced me that you could take care of me or any sparklings in the current situation, and in fact no one mech that I know, including Optimus, could convince me that they alone could provide this."

"What is it, dear Elita? Where am I remiss? What is it you think I am unable to do?" he asked. "I have weapons, I would fight to the death for our sparklings. I would kill a thousand Autobots if I had to," he assured her.

"That's what I'm scared of," she said. "Fighting. We are still at war, Starscream. How can you promise me and my offspring safety, without having to be incarcerated in a thick bunker or shelter for all of our lives? Starscream, you can't deflect stray shells or the accidental death of a sparkling if your Base is attacked."

He visibly drooped. "I..I can try," he said.

"You can do better than that, Starscream, I promise you," she said. "No one mech can defend against that, but _two_ could, by making peace. You and Optimus could both protect any offspring, and in a way I'm sure you could accept. As a Seeker, you are used to having a trine, all I'm suggesting is you have a relationship based on the idea of a trine. There is nothing restricting Cybertronians to only having one bond-partner, and if you make peace, the rest of your Decepticons might have a chance to befriend some of the other femmes of my team."

She looked into his face and saw dawning hope in his optics. She raised a gentle hand to cup one cheek.

"Starscream, if we could bring at least the two faction leaders together, you and Optimus - and work to integrate the others of the factions with each other, we could try for a lasting peace, so the war would end and any sparklings could be safe. Why don't we have a three-way bonding ceremony, the three of us, you, me and Optimus, all bonding with each other?"


	8. Chapter 8

Culture Shock.

Chapter Seven.

A/N: 1 breem = 8.5 minutes, 1 joor = 6.5 hours.

"Optimus, Seeker incoming, heading directly for us," Mirage said. Optimus came over to the screen.

"Magnification times ten," he ordered, and as Mirage complied, the dot on the screen swelled until it resolved into the familiar form of a Seeker.

All Seekers had different colours and stripe patterns on their wings, in fact it was said that if you knew all of them you could pick out one Seeker from amongst thousands merely by looking at the colour, shade and stripe patterns of their wings. However Optimus didn't have to worry about recognising one Seeker out of thousands, only one out of three, and at a glance he could see that this one was Thundercracker.

"He's requesting permission to land," Mirage said. "He says he has a message for you." Optimus nodded.

"Relay permission, ask Ratchet to ready energon and aviation fuel, and tell Ironhide to lower the force field and allow him to enter. I shall go outside to greet him and find out what the message is," Optimus said. Mirage gave him a startled look.

"Sir?" he asked in confusion.

"Come now, Mirage, we must be polite to the bearer of any news, we would be remiss if we did not offer our hospitality." He shutter-winked at the slender blue and white ex-nobleman. "Oh, and tell Ironhide to raise the force-field again once Thundercracker has landed."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Thundercracker was indeed surprised to find Optimus Prime himself waiting for him. He took the chip out of subspace and handed it to the Autobot leader. "Proof that Elita is alive and well," he said. Optimus nodded his thanks, but as Thundercracker went to take off again, Optimus put a hand on one arm.

As Optimus touched Thundercracker's arm, a jolt of sensation went through the blue Seeker. Having pulled a long overnight shift, he was more than ready for some interface. Perhaps once he'd delivered this message, he and the rest of the trine could spend some quality interface time together, surely Elita would not begrudge being alone for a joor?

"Thundercracker, I am grateful that you have come all this way to assure me that Elita is well. While I see what the message contains, why not come inside and take the chance to fill your tank with some aviation fuel we are keeping for any of our own fliers, should they turn up? Avail yourself of some of Ratchet's energon, enjoy his latest batch."

He forced his mind back to the present, trying to ignore the growing warmth of his arm where the big cool hand touched it. Thundercracker couldn't help wondering what Optimus was up to, but fuel was scarce for all the planes, and he decided to take a chance, because fuel was flight and without flight, they would go mad. Any chance to extend the amount of time they could spend airborne was a bonus, and maybe he could convince Ratchet to let him take back some energon for his wingbrothers. So he put his doubts aside and followed Optimus inside the Autobot Base.

He found himself treated as promised. He was given the opportunity to fill his tank with aircraft fuel, and sat with Ratchet, complimenting him on his energon and comparing it to Starscream's (which, unlike what he had the doctor brew for Elita, was vastly inferior). It was only when he said that he had to be returning to his own Base that he was informed that, according to Decepticon custom, they were allowed to take and keep another in return for the theft of Elita, for the same amount of time as she was held.

"I'm afraid as the first opportunity we've had, you're the one," Ratchet told him mildly. "Just as Elita is treated at your Base, you will be treated as an honoured guest. Now, shall I show you your room?"

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Starscream took Elita back to his Base after a few more minutes of flying about, and he was so excited by what she had suggested that he could barely keep his hands off her. Most of the touches were innocent, and the ones that crossed bounds she slapped aside, but playfully. After all, if she was to bond with him, she'd have to get used to him being all touchy-feely, and after being with him for a bit, she found it a lot less offensive than when she had first met him. She smiled, supposing you could get used to anything.

"Here, come back to your quarters," he said to her. "I can show you around the Base and to my other mechs a bit later, once we've talked with your Optimus, if he is agreeable to your suggestion." Something about the gleam in his optics, and the way he alternately hugged her and then wrapped his arms about himself with a smile and a shiver made her suspect that bonding with Optimus would be a very welcome bonus for the Seeker. Well, who would have thought that the new Decepticon leader secretly had what the humans termed 'the hots' for the Leader of the Autobots?

As they headed for her quarters, a black and purple Seeker shuffle-hopped over, looking agitated.

"Starscream, Starscream, I just received a communication from Thundercracker! He's been taken prisoner by the Autobots!" he cried.

"What?" Starscream said. He hurried Elita to her quarters, opening a door and giving her a gentle push inside. "I must sort this now, but I'll be back." He looked at her. "I'll deal with you then."

As the door shut on her, Elita shivered. That last had sounded like a threat.

She moved through to sit at the table, picking up her energon, but not drinking it. Instead she sat there, thinking.

She had just begun to work something out with Starscream, and then Optimus had gone and ruined it by kidnapping Thundercracker. Just what was he thinking?

She put the goblet down with a soft thump and sighed through her vents in frustration.

Mechs!

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

It didn't take long for Starscream to work out what had happened, and a quick call to the Autobot Base confirmed it.

"Why have you taken my wingbrother?" he asked as Optimus' face became visible on the screen.

"We are invoking our right by the custom you are using to take one of your tribe in return for our Elita. He will be kept for as long as she is, and treated well, unmolested and unharmed."

Starscream fumed a bit but Optimus was right: by custom, Optimus _was_ permitted to take one of his people for each person taken by Starscream.

"If you are to guarantee this, there are some things you need to know, Seeker-specific things," he said, hating to give out Seeker secrets like this, but for Thundercracker's sake, having to. "Firstly, Seekers must fly at frequent and regular intervals, Thundercracker's limit is two and a half human days. Prevent him flying for any longer, and he may start to go insane."

"Very well, we will work out a way to allow him to fly," Optimus promised.

"Secondly, as a Seeker, he will be used to regular interfaces. With us he is unused to going more than twelve hours without, and he can go no longer than one and a half human days. He will become needy before then, and then anxious, but if left any longer it could be detrimental to his health. It won't kill him, and he won't kill any of you, but it could affect his mental health and stability. One of you will need to interface with him at times too, and to be perfectly frank, Optimus, only you and Ironhide are what I would think of as of sufficient height to cope with a needy Seeker. However, his choice of interface partner is his alone, and he may beg to differ."

Optimus nodded, it seemed that he and Thundercracker would need to talk about this before he became too needy. He decided to do so immediately after this conversation was finished. He hadn't realised looking after a Seeker would be so complicated, and wished now he'd asked Ratchet before undertaking this course of action.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

As Starscream entered the room again, Elita rose from the chair she was sat in and moved back, draining the goblet and then lifting it to throw it if it became necessary. Starscream took in her alert posture and the way she was holding the goblet and backed off a few steps, bowing as he did so, before straightening back up and looking at Elita with a confused expression on his face.

"What is wrong?" he asked. "Have I offended you?"

"The last thing you said to me wasn't exactly reassuring," she said. Starscream quickly reviewed the last part of their conversation, and silently cursed himself as he realised how threatening he sounded. In order to reassure her, he got down onto his knees and looked at her.

"Elita, please, I apologise for not being clear when I brought you back into here. I mean to continue our discussion, share ideas, and ask for your co-operation to negotiate with your Base, not just for your release, but for Thundercracker's. That is all I meant by 'deal with you', but I realise my choice of words was unwise. I mean you no harm, I give you my solemn word."

His facial expression was so contrite, and the honesty of his explanation sounded unrehearsed, so Elita decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, although she watched carefully for any sign of duplicity as she slowly lowered the goblet, stepped forward, and placed it back on the table.

"So, what are your suggestions? What do you want me to do?" she asked. Starscream rose and extended his hand, palm-up to her, the 'come-with-me' gesture obvious. Elita looked at it for a moment, nodded, and complied, allowing the Seeker to tighten his grip and pull his arm back to himself, drawing her with it.

"Well, I think it might be time your intended spoke to you in person. I will take you to the main communications room, and we will negotiate, for you and for my wingbrother. Perhaps in this case, co-operation may pay off better than posturing and display."

She allowed him to take her over to his Base's main room, which contained their communications array. He opened a communication to the Autobot Base, and found himself looking at Mirage, with Ratchet and Prowl in the background.

"I, Starscream, Leader of the Decepticons, requests to speak with Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots, regarding the femme Elita-One, and the mech he has taken in return, Thundercracker," he said.

"He went to check on Thundercracker some two breems ago. I'll try and call him for you," Mirage said, then looked down and then up in puzzlement.

"His comms are off, I can't contact him. Hold on, I'll send somebody to check on him," he said, but as he moved to do so, Ratchet moved forward, touched his shoulder, and as the slender blue and white mech looked up, shook his head.

"I received a comm from Optimus asking not to be disturbed," Ratchet said. "It sounded a little unusual, but not alarmed and he wasn't trying to warn us of anything, not even in code, he would have commed something different. Intra-base scans show neither he nor Thundercracker have moved from the cabin assigned to Thundercracker."

"Ah, I think I know what's going on, we can wait," Starscream said. "Tell him to call for me the moment he is available, if he needs to recharge, let him, we can wait, Starscream out." He cut the communication before his snicker was heard at the Autobot Base, although the sound was registered by Elita.

"What was that about? You said you think you knew what was happening, what's going on? Why is Optimus unavailable?"

"My dear Elita, as you know well, us Seekers have two main needs, that is the need to fly, and the need to interface. I was explicit with Optimus about how necessary these two needs are. Both needs vary from Seeker to Seeker, for example I can go without either for up to a week, although it is very difficult. Of the three of us, Thundercracker's need to fly and his need to interface are both shorter than either mine or Skywarp's, and I'd say that Thundercracker can only do without interface for maybe thirty-two hours, maximum. Oh, it wouldn't be lethal for him or anyone around him, but anyone going near him might find themselves getting jumped. He will, however get pretty needy well before the thirty-six hours is up, and as he was flying a long patrol yesterday..."

He paused, noting the dawning comprehension on Elita's face and, despite himself, rather enjoying it.

"I have reason to believe that Thundercracker probably reached the needy stage not so long ago. Your Optimus promised to make sure that both his needs were addressed." He couldn't help grinning slightly when Elita put her hand to her mouth, not quite stifling the giggles that escaped as her processor worked out what Starscream was talking about. He confirmed what he knew she had to be guessing.

"I imagine he is – busy - doing just that for one of those needs."

A/N: So, do I detail Optimus discharging his duty to see to TC's need, or don't I? Or is that a daft question? Let me know!


	9. Chapter 9

Culture Shock.

Chapter Nine.

A/N: The glossa is the Cybertronian equivalent of a tongue, derma are the lips, and denta are teeth.

Optimus decided he should go and check on Thundercracker. As a Prime, there were certain things he was aware of, and one of those things was that too much solitude was not a good thing for such a gregarious race as Seekers. The custom Optimus was now utilising to keep Thundercracker while Elita was away stipulated that the needs of the captive must be met, and company, for a Seeker, was very much a need, rather than a want. Optimus was prepared to give Thundercracker access to the rec-room, and accompany him there to get the company he craved.

He realised he must have already neglected this need for too long when he saw Thundercracker crouching in a corner, hugging himself and whimpering in distress. Concerned, he moved over, stroking Thundercracker's face to make him aware of his presence, then unwrapping the Seeker's arms from around his own body and re-wrapping them about Optimus' own, Optimus then using his own arms to embrace and caress the distressed Seeker.

Thundercracker's arms tightened reflexively around the body of the Autobot leader, pulling him closely as he keened a little, and to a certain extent, Optimus was expecting this. What he wasn't expecting, being unaware that Thundercracker had gone so long without interface, was for the Seeker to reach up with one hand, turn Optimus' face towards his own, and then press his derma firmly against Optimus' own, the Seeker's glossa trying to pass between Optimus' derma.

Unprepared for the move, Optimus' first instinct was to press his derma closer together, but as Thundercracker gave a distressed keen, Optimus relaxed his derma and opened his mouth, allowing Thundercracker's glossa entry.

Thundercracker's arms shifted position, one arm shifting to allow one hand to wander sensuously over the Prime's back. Optimus felt a frisson of excitement rush through his neural network, and he groaned and pressed against the Seeker, for Prime or no, he had needs and reactions like any other mech. He had not realised that Thundercracker was in need of interface, but he had promised Starscream that he would discharge any duty that kept Thundercracker well, and, as the humans said, needs, it seemed, must. He sent a comm to Ratchet that he was not to be disturbed for any reason, he switched off his comm system, and then shifting his own arms into a position where he could caress as well as hold, he thrust his own glossa forward to twist and spar with the Seeker's.

Thundercracker pressed himself closer to Optimus, and slid his hand to one of Optimus' seams. He felt the Prime shift one of his own hands to a side seam, the Seeker keening in desire as Optimus carefully pressed his fingers against it and began to stroke the edges, stimulating the nearby sensors. Thundercracker pressed his body harder against the Prime's fingers, forcing the caressing digits into the seam, and when Optimus found a cable and carefully took it between finger and thumb, Thundercracker's charge began to build. He disengaged his derma from Optimus' own, dipped his head, and began licking and sucking at the cables on Optimus' neck.

Optimus grunted in surprise and let out a warble as his free hand grabbed at Thundercracker's back and pulled, bringing the two closer together as Optimus grabbed and held to the Seeker as Thundercracker stimulated his motor and sensory cables with his mouth. The Seeker's actions had put the top of his helm within reach of Optimus' own mouth, and the Prime bent to kiss the exposed helm, even as he recalled the cable he was holding and gently tugged on it, and rolled it between his digits.

Thundercracker threw his head back so abruptly that Optimus' own head was knocked back with the force of it, but the keen that followed told Optimus his work on the cable was having the desired effect. He pulled the Seeker against himself, feeling Thundercracker's own hands grasping, sliding, caressing, as the Seeker brought his head back down to capture Optimus' mouth with his own again, twisting to get into a suitable position to deepen the kiss.

This action threw them off balance, and as Thundercracker was bigger and heavier then the Prime, Optimus was unable to stabilise enough or in time. They both fell, tangled together, hitting the ground with a thud that made the ground shake.

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"What was _that_?" asked Mirage, holding onto the console as the Base shook. "Earthquake?"

"Well, it was only one tremor, whatever it was." Ratchet said with a slight smile on his face. "Unless it happens again, I wouldn't worry about it. Perhaps Ironhide mis-stepped in his armoury and slipped or something, I don't know."

Mirage started at Ratchet, for Ironhide was one of the most careful and sure-footed mechs on the Base, but one look at the innocent yet stern stare Ratchet was leveling at him convinced him not to question further. Anyway, Ratchet was right about one thing: the tremor had not recurred.

"Yes Sir," he replied, sitting back down and returning his own gaze to the screens in front of him.

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The first few seconds were spent recovering from the processor-rattling fall they had had, and then Optimus commed Thundercracker to ask if he was okay. Thundercracker's reply took the form of hands drumming and caressing the Prime's back in a manner calculated to arouse. Assured of the Seeker's fitness, Optimus returned his attention to the cable he still held, rolling it gently back and forth between his digits as his other hand rose to stroke the exposed bundle of cables behind the Seeker's neck.

Thundercracker again cried out, the patter of his fingers faltering but never quite stopping, arching his back, pressing his cockpit hard against Optimus' own chest. The Prime could feel the fast chuff of air from the Seeker's swiftly cycling vents against his chest, the Seeker's knees rising as he pressed harder against his partner in this horizontal dance. Looking up at Thundercracker's optics, he saw them flashing on and off and on again, a clear sign he was heading for overload.

He felt as much as heard a click beneath him, and a glance downward at the separating canopy confirmed what the click was. Thundercracker's body was readying his Spark for a merge. Optimus quickly sent the command to open his own chest panels, then he pressed down, twisting his head to say into the Seeker's audio "Are you sure you want to merge with me?"

"Slag it yes, Optimus, I'm a Seeker, and you're not exactly hideous, are you?" Thundercracker said, with a hint of his usual disdain. Optimus nodded, and sure now that Thundercracker was happy mentally as well as physically to do this, he carefully shifted himself so the openings to their chest cavities met. A small click signified that their chests had locked, and that Sparkmerge would and could soon be safely performed.

The force-fields around each of their Sparks flickered, pulsed against each other and then the frequencies harmonised somewhere between the separate frequencies they each possessed, allowing the fields to combine. They would be equalised like this for only a few minutes, long enough for the Sparks to approach and briefly combine energies.

Optimus withdrew his fingers from the seam, and Thundercracker let out a cry of disappointment, but that changed to a hum of pleasure as Optimus used one hand to caress one wing and his other to stroke at the seams of the separated cockpit. Both areas were highly sensitive, and as Thundercracker bucked beneath him, Optimus allowed himself a small smile, sometimes Ratchet's medical files contained such useful nuggets of information. Then he leaned up to press his derma against the Seeker's, and Thundercracker returned the kiss with barely contained ardour.

He felt the Seeker's digits against his own side-seams, gasped as he felt the nimble appendages easily gain entry, twitched as Thundercracker turned the tables on the Prime, tweaking, rolling and caressing sensitive wiring and cables usually buried beneath his thick armour. Thundercracker's glossa found Optimus' own, caressing, darting back and forth around Prime's, retreating suddenly, and then as Optimus' own glossa tried to follow, seeking its partner, Thundercracker bit down on it with his denta, not hard so as to hurt but enough to stimulate and excite.

Optimus, who had thought himself more in control than Thundercracker, suddenly found his arousal spiraling out of control. He raised his hand, shaking, from the cockpit rim to the Seeker's other wing, both of his hands now stroking the sensitive leading edges of each wing, and that was enough to push Thundercracker over the edge. The Seeker let out a screech of raw desire and ecstasy, his whole body one big arch, his Spark rising up, his fingers convulsing in the tangle of wiring and tubing inside Prime.

The sudden surge of sensations that involuntary action produced pushed Optimus over too, and he roared, at the same time as his truck horn, set off by stray signals, sounded, first once, then again as his Spark also reacted, rising and gently touching against Thundercracker's. The touch triggered violent, pulsing bursts of energy from both Sparks, darting out to surround and strike the Spark of the other multiple times, a silent yet violent dance of energy that lasted for a good thirty to forty seconds, the burst of light the constant energy merge produced blotting out the two individual Sparks with a fierce, white-blue glow.

As the Sparks' reaction slowed and then stopped, the two separated and retreated, pulsing gently, back into the respective bodies they belonged to. The force-fields deharmonised and separated, each field enclosing its Spark, and as their chests unlocked, Optimus slid sideways across Thundercracker, and the panels on their chests slid shut, in the Seeker's case, seamlessly.

For a few moments there was quiet, as the two rebooted, then Optimus shifted himself off Thundercracker, then helped the Seeker sit up from his supine position, figuring that with the wings he could not roll to his side. Thundercracker smiled and nodded in gratitude.

"I should get back to the main communications room, in case Starscream calls," Optimus said, the pitch of his voice wavering with fatigue.

"If Starscream is aware you are visiting me and are unavailable, he will know why and he will wait. If it is urgent, he will com me," Thundercracker said. "I need to recharge and I imagine so do you, unless your Primely Spark is not tired by such activity, which I do not think is the case." He lay back, then extended an arm. "Come, recharge, the second best part of interface is the post-overload cuddles and the snuggling together to recharge." He looked at Optimus pleadingly. "Please? I can't recharge alone after that, I need someone to snuggle!"

"Very well," Optimus said, reactivating his com long enough to insist nobody disturb them for a joor, turning it back off, then setting his internal alarm to wake him in the same time. Then he lay down, rolled over next to Thundercracker, and they wrapped an arm about each other. They shifted together, sighed once or twice, and Thundercracker nuzzled Optimus, who caressed lightly with his hand.

Then, with a deep expulsion of his vents, Optimus went into recharge, Thundercracker just one vent-turn behind.

A/N: My computer has gone belly-up again, so apologies if I do not update quickly or reply to reviews for a time. I am currently at the mercy of cybercafes.


	10. Chapter 10

Culture Shock.

Chapter Ten.

A/N: Due to apparent lack of interest, this story will be updated as and when I have the time, inclination, and ideas to complete it.

Optimus came to muzzily, becoming aware that he was not alone, that another, larger body was pressed against his own. For a moment he was unsure of who this was, then the memory of what had occurred earlier uploaded, and he recalled how and why he came to be lying on the floor in the arms of one of the Command Trine that headed the Decepticon forces.

At some point during their rest, one or both of them had moved. Although they had fallen into recharge facing one another, each with an arm about the other, now Optimus had his back to Thundercracker, the Seeker had his arms around Optimus' waist, and their bodies lay alongside each other spoon-fashion, Thundercracker at Optimus' back.

Recalling the interface, Optimus couldn't help but feel guilty for their liaison had been a hurried, desperate, and almost non-verbal affair, which was not really Optimus' style. The Prime was used to gentle and mostly controlled interfaces, where he took the time to talk to his partner and tell them how much he cared, checked on how they felt, and took whatever time was needed for both partners to gain the desired effect.

Even when Elita was at her most dominant and horny, speaking had always been a major part of Optimus' interface style. With TC he'd been taken by surprise, and the interface had progressed too rapidly for much talking to occur. However, the recharge and subsequent awakening could also be counted. So upon awakening and sorting out what had happened, Optimus stroked TC's lower arm (a reasonably safe place to stroke on the easily-charged Seekers) and said "Good morning. Was your recharge enjoyable?"

The Seeker's first response was totally non-verbal, featuring a long and intensive full-body stretch, his legs scraping against the Prime's and one arms lifting from Optimus waist, the other sliding from beneath. Thundercracker's Seeker's body pulled away from the Prime's as he leaned back, inverting his back in a reverse 'C' shape. Optimus took the opportunity to turn on his side and move to face the Seeker, seeing his optics slitted to almost nothing as his stretch peaked. Then Thundercracker began relaxing, one of his arms sliding back over Optimus' waist in a flirtatious manner, the other wriggling back under, then flexing as they pulled Optimus close again.

"It was restful, thank you, but would be incomplete without a wake-up interface. It is something I am used to with my wingbrothers, so I would be very grateful if you could oblige me."

Optimus gave a bass chuckle as he turned both his body and his voice to the task at hand. Their morning overload was slower and less desperate than their earlier liaison, allowing both Optimus and Thundercracker to take it at a slower pace, and demonstrate many of their extensive range of interface skills, physical, verbal and mental, to and on each other. There was no merge this time, however neither of them felt this time that there was any need for one.

They both rose once they had finished, and Optimus, recalling his earlier decision, asked Thundercracker if he would like to see the rec-room.

"Why yes, I would like that very much, thank you," he asked. "Would there, by any chance, be an opportunity to pick up some energon on the way? I think that we might both welcome the chance to replenish some energy."

"Certainly, in fact we can, as the humans might say, 'kill two birds with one stone,' by going there." At the Seeker's confused look, he explained. "It is nothing to do with offlining Earth avians with rocks, but a human expression meaning to achieve two results with one action. I can take you straight to the rec-room to socialise without stopping off at Ratchet's med bay because there are energon dispensers in the rec room."

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" Thundercracker asked. "Lead the way, Optimus Prime."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Elita and Starscream had whiled away some of the time in Elita's quarters by talking about their options, and discussing the current situation.. Starscream had left Elita for a few hours, although not without an explanation.

"As I said, I can go without interface for up to a human week, but Skywarp, although his limit is longer than Thundercracker's, is shorter than mine," Starscream had told her. "Allow me to attend to both my wing brother's needs and sort out my own a little early, and I will return."

"Very well, it's not as if I am going anywhere, is it?" she had asked. With a smile, Starscream had run one loving hand down Elita's torso and legs, exiting before she could say anything.

She supposed she really didn't mind Starscream's touchy-feely style, as a Seeker he was probably used to it. Some of his touches, it was true, were flirtatious, but several more were not, and were merely signs of affection. Elita was beginning to be able to tell them apart, and anyway, she found much of the contact quite enjoyable. Whether she was genuinely changing her general attitude, or whether it was because she was accepting Starscream as a second intended, she wasn't sure, but to be honest, she wasn't analysing the situation any.

She sat back down in her chair, refilled her goblet from the gold energon flagon on the table, and leaned back. The trip to Earth had been long and arduous, taking several thousand years. If nothing else, it had taught Elita patience. She had waited thousands of human years to get to the planet Optimus was also on. She supposed she could wait a few more paltry human hours.

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When Optimus walked into the rec-room with Thundercracker by his side, the rec-room fell quiet. Then Mirage said "Hello, Optimus, and hi Thundercracker, welcome to the rec-room. Want to learn pool?"

Bluestreak, who had been about to speak, saw that others had the situation well in hand. He turned back to answer a point put by Hound, then turned back, to see Thundercracker take a cue with a certain amount of uncertainty. He was rather glad actually, as the only thing he could think of to ask the Seeker was the content of the rec-room's gossip, in other words, whether he'd also heard Optimus truck-alt's horn go off, and potential reasons. The Seeker's close proximity to the Prime, plus the rumours about a Seeker's appetite for interface, had Bluestreak guessing the correct reason, but for once he kept his mouth shut. Instead, as Optimus picked up another cue, he was happy to watch as the two larger mechs proceeded to play pool.

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Starscream entered the room just as Elita begun to wonder if she'd been forgotten.

"Well, Elita, if you are ready, we should contact your Base, I think. I would imagine that Optimus and Thundercracker have – ah, finished their business with each other. We can, at least ask if he is available to talk."

"Certainly, but I have something I must say," she said. Starscream nodded, looking uncertain, and Elita continued.

"Touch me like again like you did before you left earlier, and you might find..." she paused, allowing Starscream's face to register worry before she finished. "...you might find yourself getting jumped! It's a highly stimulating action!"

The worried look upon his face cleared almost straight away as he inclined his head and aimed a smile at her.

"I look forwards to it, but at another time, Elita, as I believe that now we should try and contact our intended." As she looked at him, noticing the 'our', he winked and held out his hand. She needed no more prompting, placing her delicate hand into his large palm. Gently enclosing it, he drew her to him, and took her to the main communications room of his Base.

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"Sir, incoming communication from the Decepticon base!" Cliffjumper told Bumblebee, who, as the available Captain while Optimus was absent, and Ratchet and Ironhide were recharging, was in charge of the Base. Bumblebee stood at his tallest and said "Put them on screen."

The screen lightened, and Starscream, with Elita beside him, appeared on screen.

"Autobots, I have somebody here who would like to speak to Optimus Prime," the Seeker said.

"Yes, I believe he told us to contact him as soon as we received a call from you, I shall inform him immediately. I am sure he will be here soon," Bumblebee said smoothly, while sending a priority com to Optimus: he did not want to let Starscream know that he'd caught Optimus on the hop, especially while the Decepticon Leader had, and was laying claim to, Elita. He received an 'on my way' com and played for time.

"While waiting for Optimus, may I enquire how Elita is? Forgive us for implied suspicion, but we would appreciate it if Elita could respond for herself..."

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Optimus' head jerked up as he was drawing his cue back for the 'pot' in the second game, the shot that would seal TC's loss. The Seeker saw the Prime's optics flash as he dropped the cue and said "I concede this game to Thundercracker."

Thundercracker looked at Optimus with wide optics, but dropped his cue as Optimus put an arm around the Seeker's shoulders and said "Thundercracker and I have business in the Communications Centre, please excuse us."

As Optimus hustled Thundercracker out, the Seeker asked "What is it?"

"Starscream has contacted the Base, with Elita: he wishes to speak to me. I believe your presence would be beneficial to us all."

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As Elita began speaking, Optimus entered the room with Thundercracker. Starscream' optics immediately shifted to focus on his wingbrother, but Optimus did not seem to mind, which seemed only right, for the Prime's own optics zeroed in on Elita's image.

"I'm okay, and being treated well by Starscream, and he has assured me that as he has laid claim to me, none of the other Decepticons will dare to approach me, much less attempt to harm me," Elita said. As she spotted Optimus, she turned her attention to him.

"Decepticon Leader Starscream and I have been in discussion about the loss of the AllSpark and what that means, not just to him and his Decepticons, but what it means for all of us. Between us, we've thought out an idea..."

Optimus and the other Autobots in the communication room listened, as Elita set out her idea.


	11. Chapter 11

Culture Shock.

Chapter Eleven.

A/N: 1 joor = 6.5 hours. Okay, I know the ending for this is rushed and less than ideal, but I ran out of ideas, will, and inspiration on this one. If a better idea for an ending presents itself, I will happily adapt the chapter, or add a suitable epilogue. Until then, this story is over.

Working out the arrangements for the bonding had been somewhat tricky, as it was a marriage of Cybertronian inhabitants on human soil. Who would conduct the ceremony was decided by invoking Cybertronian law, meaning anybody chosen by those involved in the bonding could be trusted, plus rotating the people who would perform the bonding ceremony. However, as it was on American soil, it had to be valid under American law also.

The bonding was in four parts. First, Optimus and Elita's bonding to each other was conducted by Starscream, and this should be acceptable under both Human and Cybertronian law, as Starscream, also being Cybertronian but being head of a different group, counted as the head of a nation, who, under Earth law, could oversee a marriage. Similarly, Optimus presided over the bonding of Elita and Starscream, valid under Earth law for, as the leader of the Autobots, Optimus was a valid conductor of the bonding for the same reasons. Then it was the turn of Starscream and Optimus to bond, and then the three reaffirmed the commitment to each other this bonding would require.

The U.S. President, for various reasons, could not attend, however several officials from different departments attended on his behalf. For the bonding of Starscream and Optimus, and the three-way affirmation, Captain Lennox was asked to preside. Okay, his rank was not a naval one, but as he was a human, who was already in the know, the two Cybertronian faction leaders chose him to conduct the ceremony, with a written translation. Neither Leader thought that it might be a problem, but if it was, they were happy to re-do that part of the bonding ceremony presided by whoever they humans wanted and as often as it took to keep the humans happy: Starscream had agreed, as part of the ceremony, to broker peace between his forces with both the Autobots and the American Government.

It had not been as hard a job as Starscream had expected to get his mechs to agree to the peace, at least not once the rest of Elita's team had gotten involved. They had promised that they would be happy to consider any offer of interface from any Decepticon as long as peace was achieved, and that maybe, in time, sparklings could also be considered.

With Elita involved as well, that made six femmes potentially willing to bear sparklings for any member of their side as well as the Autobots. However, this was with the proviso that the younglings would not be forced or encouraged to fight against either one of their Creators, so when talks moved beyond cease-fire, and into the territory of alliance, the talk was of custody time, care-rotas, and play dates, instead of nigglings over boundaries, area, and what certain phrases meant at the military and legal level.

Elita had chosen to bear the first sparkling with Optimus, with a promise to Starscream that she would bear one for him next.

"Is that all?" he'd asked, hurt and disappointment evident in his voice. "What about your youngling? Can I not help look after him or her? Can my trine and I not have any involvement with your little one? This is a three-way bonding, so don't I get any input?"

"Well, if you want to, of course you can help look after them," Optimus had said, genuinely surprised, while Elita nodded her agreement too. "Elita and I may both need to be absent, or need a break, or be unavailable for other reasons. We did not realise that you would wish to help, and apologise for the oversight. If you and your trine are willing to help, we would be grateful for it."

"Thank you!" Starscream said, comming his trine to tell them, and doing a strange little dance on the spot. "I'm sorry if you seem surprised, perhaps we should have told you," he continued. "Before the war, the three of us were each employed part-time as Seeker-guardians for some rich Autobot families. Even though some of us were not that well treated, we endured it because we love little ones. When the war broke out, we made sure none of the younglings was harmed, even though their Creators were not always so fortunate. We do not blame the young for the crime of their elders."

Optimus and Elita looked at each other, Elita comming Optimus that maybe they knew all they needed to know about the last two statements made by the Seeker. They had a fragile peace and were looking to the future, so there was little point, in many cases, of harking back to the past. Optimus commed back his agreement as he turned to Starscream and said "Well, then, we shall accept your offer of help and be grateful for it."

For the benefit of the humans, after the bonding ceremonies there was then a reception with drinks and refreshments available. The three newly-bonded had to control their feelings and circulate and be gracious hosts, for on Cybertron such bondings usually involved those bonded immediately retreating to a private room and not being disturbed for at least twenty-five joors, or five days in human time. However, as Optimus noted, (thankfully before the bonding) they were in North America on Earth, not Iacon on Cybertron, so should abide by local custom. "In human 'marriage' on this continent, the mainstram view is that it is acceptable for the couple to leave the reception early," Optimus observed. "If we circulate for a joor or two, that should be acceptable, then we can politely leave."

Of course, the Cybertronian sense of time as compared to the human one worked for the bond-trine, for even the most eager Government agent was leaving after eight hours. This meant that the new trio could go to the big berth Ratchet had specially installed in Optimus' room, without risking offending any of the humans, to finalise their bonding with a three-way Sparkmerge. Ratchet had made it very clear to all the humans in communication with the Autobots that after that time, the three would be unavailable for anything but the most dire of emergencies for the next week.

"But what if we need the help of the Autobots with anything else?" one general had asked. "Have we got to hope that none of the issues you can help us with happen in this week?"

"Not at all," Ratchet had replied. "There are three of us here with the rank of Captain, we are all eminently capable of command. You can still call on the Autobots for help, but led by someone other than the Prime for a week. We can operate independently of the Prime, and if we feel he's needed, we will contact him." The humans were a lot less twitchy when reminded that the Decepticons were under ceasefire, and had so far honoured it.

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The ceremony went without a hitch, and the humans seemed to know to leave earlier than the Autobots expected. Sam explained that as humans needed more time to recharge, the humans had chosen to leave at the time expected for human joining. It meant that Starscream , Elita, and Optimus could start their five days of seclusion early, and it seemed that even the Decepticons respected this, for nothing was heard of them for a week.

Both faction leaders, upon exiting, seemed very pleased with themselves, and it was clear, even to the humans, that the bonded trine were far more relaxed than before they were bonded. It was not only they who had relaxed either, for Moonracer had disappeared into a room with both Thundercracker and Skywarp, and after three days Ratchet had gone into the room to check on them, and found all three in deep recharge.

Judging by the sounds that had come from the room for the first two and a half days it was not difficult to guess what they had been doing to sleep so deeply, although Ratchet had elected to keep that knowledge to himself, lock the room, and leave them to sleep it off. Although he complained to all who would listen that he had more work during truces than in combat, everybody knew that Ratchet was only happy when he had non-combat injuries to tend to.

For the rest of the Base an uneasy truce between Autobot and Decepticon was in place, and just as the Autobots did much to accommodate the Decepticons, most of the Decepticons chose to make things as awkward as possible. However, as time moved on, and Autobots and Decepticons engaged in debate (and the odd argument) in the Rec-room, opinions were expressed and sometimes taken on board by the opposite party. The truce became extended first by weeks, then by months, as Autobots, Humans, and Decepticons debated issues, and came to a compromise. It turned out that many of the issues brought up were important to all sides, and that each group could help by bringing to the table anything they could do to make the situation less difficult.

It wasn't too long before Optimus and Elita's sparkling was born, and in deference to their new home they called her 'Terra Prima' which translated as 'First of Earth.' Even the non-flying Decepticons seemed to accept her, for which the Prime, Elita, and the other Autobots were grateful.

It came as a surprise to the other Autobots, and the grounder Decepticons, when the Seekers began visiting the Autobot Base fairly regularly, more often than not taking one of the grounder Decepticons with them. It soon became apparent why the Seekers were taking one of the grounders, when the tank-mech, Wreckage came one day, became totally enchanted upon seeing and holding the little one, and began talking about wanting one of his own one day. It was quite obvious to all nearby that when he returned to the Decepticon Base, Wreckage would likely regale the other grounders with stories about Terra Prima, how cute and tiny and adorable she was. This, of course, could only encourage the others to keep to the peace. This was consolidated by Arcee reminding the big mech that the Autobot femmes were happy to accept Decepticon suitors.

As Optimus moved forwards to meet another grounder who was accompanying Starscream, and lowered his sleeping sparkling into the cautiously-extended hands, he reflected that Elita's kidnapping, in the end, had led to a good end result for all involved parties.

Even if they had all received a kind of culture shock along the way.


End file.
